Everyday, numerous developments take place in the customs and international trade front. Developments may be at the multilateral, regional, bilateral or national levels (e.g. WTO, ASEAN, Japan-Philippines, Philippines). The upshot is that these events both create new opportunities, implications or risks for companies, both in the short and long run. Companies that have regionally integrated business operations and strategies that seek to capitalize on preferential trading arrangements and contend with other non-tariff market access issues are typically most significantly affected. In consideration of this external environment, companies necessarily need continual updates and interpretation of the above-mentioned developments in order to make informed business decisions or actions.